Combined explosive-engine and air-propeller.



W. HARPER, 'JR.

COMBINED BXPLOSIVE ENGINE AND AIR PROPBLLBR.

APPLICATION TILED MAY 19, 1905.

1,012,201. Patented Dec.19,1911

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1,

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W. HARPER, JR.

COMBINED BXPLOSIVE ENGINE AND AIR PROPELLBR.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 19, 1905.

1,012,201. Patented Dec.19,1911.

Affarn l f WILLIAM HARPER, JR., OF NEW BLOOMFIELD, FENNSYLVANIA,

\JOMBINED EXPLOSIVE-ENGINE AND AIR-PROPELLEP Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Dec. 19, 1911.

Application filed May 19, 1905. Serial No. 261,135.

To all whom it may concern:

Be 1t known that I, \Ynmnu llARPl-IR, .Tix, acitizen of the United States'oi America,

and a resident of New Bloomfield. lerry.

county, and Qtate of Pennsylvania, have i11- vented certain new and useful lmprovements in Combined Exp]osive-Ilngiues and l-\ir-Propcllers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates particularly to the direct combination of an explosive engine with the blades of an air propeller, whereby the propeller blades and engine cylinders have common support and revolve about stationary cranks ot' the explosive engine.

The apparatus is intended for aerial pro-- pulsion wherein extreme lightness and maximum power is the chief object. These are principally attained by arranging for the direct transmission of energy from the on gine to the propeller without intervening couplings, bearings and shafts or other transmission mechanism, and a further elimination of weight arises from the op portunity thereby arising for the common support of the propeller and engine and the utilization of the entire mass of the engine, excepting only the cranks, for a iiy-wheel, thereby dispensing with weight for this special purpose.

A further object. of the invention is a provision for the storage of oil for lubrication in a chamber adjacent to and forming a part of the crankcase, and efi'ecting feed of oil under pressure by centrifugal force.

A further objectof the invention is to secure perfect balancing of the power impulses together with as evenly spaced a succession of impulses as practicable, whereby additional lightness of construction will be admissible.

In the accompanying two sheets of drawings, Which-forma part of this specification, Figure 1 is a side elevation broken away on the line II of Fig. 3, showing a combined gas engine and propeller embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a section on the line IIII of Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a front'view of the propeller and engine. Fig. 4 is a section through the crank-case on the line IV-IV of Fig. 2, showing the Valve operating cams. Fig. 5 is a section through the crankcase on the line VV of Fig. 2, showing the relative positions of the cranks and pitmen. I

The engine comprises four cylinders A. A A A3 equally spacedaround a crankcase B. The cylinders are provided with ribsa for air cooling. The cylinders A and A are spaced at right angles and with the r axes in the same plane, but 1n advance ofthe plane of the other two cylinders, A and A, so that they can be connected with a double crank formed with three dlsks C C C and cranksc 0 set oppositely, the cylinders A and A being connected by the pitmen D D with the crank c and the cylinders A and A being connected with the crank c by the pitmen D 1) respectively. By reason of this construction the pistons of the cylinders A and At, which are opposite, throw oppositely, as is also the case with the pistons of the cylinders A A, so thatthe engine as a whole ,will be free from transverse vibration. Gas is brought to the engine through a swivel joint coupling E and conveyed through pipes F F to the valvechambers (l G, through which it is admitted to the cylinders. Each cylinder, as illus-' trated, is of the usual four-cycle type, four consecutive strokes being used to draw in, compress, explode. and expel the charge. The valves for opening the exhausts from the cylinders are operated'by cams H H H H attached to gears I I which mesh with a stationary gear J of half the size, whereby the four-cycle operation is controlled. A brush rigging K, which is held stationary, makes contact with contactblocks L L carried by the hub of the crankcase, and current is conveyed from-these blocks to the spark-plugs M M, for the explosion of the charges 'in the cylinder at the proper time. The brush rigging is revolubly mounted ,on a clamp N by which the crank-shaft is held, and may be set to adjust the momentsof explosion in each of the cylinders with reference to the commencements of the explosion or power strokes. The cams for operating the valves are preferably so set and the contact blocks are preferably so placed, as shown, so that the power strokes of opposite cylinders will be concurrent, thereby balancing forces and permitting lighter construction. The power strokes of one pair of cylinders are alternated with the power strokes of the other pair of cylindersat intervals alternating three quarters of a revolution and arevolution and a quarter.

.The engine is lubricated by oil contained in a chamber 0 which is formed at one end of the crank-case surrounding'the crankshaft, and the oil is fed to the cylinders through pipes P, centrifugal force efiecting the oil feed. A steel rim R encircles the engine, and spokes S connect the tops of the engine cylinders with the rims. Four pro peller blades V V are set against each cylinder and lie between the rim and crank-case to each of which they are secured. The ribs of the cylinders are cut away on the side adjoining the blades sutliciently to permit the blades to set close to the cylinder bodies. The elements of the propeller blades are lines radial to the crank-shaft. The blades may therefore be set snugly against the sides of the cylinders and the cylinders utilized throughout their lengths as supports for the blades. The cylinders lie on the advancing or rarefying sides of the blades. The blades are preferably slightly concave toward the compression sides. The advancing edges 0 of the blades being each at a slightly lesser angle than the leaving edges 2 2. 7

What I claim as new and desire to @cure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

It. In an explosive engine, the combination of a stationary crank-shaft, a crank-case rotative on the crank shaft, cylinders attached to the case, an oil-containing cham ber surrounding the crank-shaft and oil feed connections from the oil chamber to the c yl-' inders, substantially as described.

2. In a combined explosive engine' and air propeller, the combination of a stationary crankshaft, a crank-case, rotative on the crank shaft, cylinders attached to the crank-case, and propeller blades rigidly at. In a combined explosive engine and air propeller, the combination of a stationary crank-shaft, cylinders, a crank-case support ing the cylinders, the crank-case being rotative on the crank-shaft, and propeller blades the elements of which are radial to the crankshaft supported by the crank-case and intermediate of their edges by the cylinders, substantially as described.

5. In a combined explosive engine and ir propeller, the combination of a qonary cranleshaft, a crank-case rotative on a crank-shat t, cylinders attaened to the 0 case, and propeller blades extending b the outer end of the e liniilers T connected to the cranl-:-case, snbstant. described.

Si ned by me at New Bloch sylvania, this 17th day oi i 

